1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to mechanisms for shielding boat propellers. More specifically, the present invention relates to a propeller shield that is designed to pivot over the distal face of a propeller when the boat is at rest or moving in reverse through water and to pivot away from the propeller when the boat is moving forward in the water.
2. Background and Related Art
The propeller of many motorized boats that have an outboard motor or an inboard/outboard motor typically rests below the bottom surface of the boat, at or near the boat's distal end (or stern), when the propeller is in use. Accordingly, as the propeller spins, it is able to propel the boat through the water. Due to its position, however, and the fact that the propeller typically spins at a very high RPM during use, the propeller poses a substantial safety risk to any person in proximity to the spinning propeller. For instance, should a passenger, a skier, a swimmer, or another person accidentally be hit by the spinning propeller, serious injury will inevitably result.
There are several prior art propeller guards that attempt to prevent a person from being injured by accidentally contacting a spinning propeller. A first example of a conventional propeller guard is an enclosure that includes a hollow cylindrical member that surrounds the lateral-most edges of the propeller. Such an enclosure is designed to allow water to have fluid flow access to the propeller in order to allow the propeller to function as intended while preventing objects (e.g., hands, feet, etc.) from contacting the sharp lateral edges of the propeller's blades.
Although such enclosures are somewhat successful in preventing objects from contacting the lateral-most edges of a spinning propeller, such enclosures often have several severe drawbacks. In one example, while certain conventional propeller guards cover the propeller's lateral-most edges, some guards do little to nothing to prevent objects from contacting the propeller from the propeller's distal face (or the portion of the propeller that faces away from the boat's bow). Accordingly, even with such an enclosure in place, a person could still be seriously injured by contacting the propeller from its distal face instead of from its sides.
In other instances, some conventional propeller guards tend to severely reduce the performance characteristics of the boat to which they are connected. For instance, some propeller guards cause instability, vibrations, control degradation, and unpredictability of motor response during use. In still other instances, some conventional guards can cause a significant amount of drag as the boat moves through the water. As a result, such guards can noticeably slow the boat and adversely affect its steering capabilities.
Accordingly, it would be an improvement in the art to provide improved systems and techniques to prevent people and other objects from accidentally contacting boat propellers as the propellers spin.